Guwahati: Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) has been functional for the Ex-Servicemen and their dependent’s health care since 2004. A total of 12 Polyclinics across Assam provide health care in collaboration with the empanelled private hospitals and Military Service Hospitals.
There was a need for additional medical facilities in the state of Assam to be included in the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) network in order to alleviate the burden on beneficiaries who had to travel to Guwahati, often from remote districts, for even minor surgeries or medical treatments. This need was recognized at the highest level and steps were taken to empanel additional medical facilities in Assam to serve ECHS beneficiaries.
Accordingly, to bring in a perceptible improvement in the ECHS treatment facilities, the initiative was taken by Regional Centre, Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Guwahati, under the guidance of Lt Gen RP Kalita, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, to put forward the process to empanel the Government Medical Colleges of Assam with proactive assistance from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence, approved the empanelment of Government Medical Colleges in Assam with ECHS and on January 5, 2023, a Memorandum of Agreement were signed between the Indian Army Authorities and eight Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals namely Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh, Guwahati Medical College & Hospital, Guwahati, Silchar Medical College & Hospital, Silchar, Jorhat Medical College & Hospital, Jorhat, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College & Hospital, Barpeta, Tezpur Medical College & Hospital, Tezpur, Diphu Medical College & Hospital, Diphu, Lakhimpur Medical College & Hospital, North Lakhimpur of Assam. On behalf of Headquarter Eastern Command, Headquarter 101 Area, Shillong and Central Organisation ECHS, the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed between Regional Director, Ex-Servicemen
Contributory Health Scheme, Guwahati and respective Principal / Medical Superintendent of Government Medical Colleges. The MoA was exchanged in presence of CM, Keshav Mahanta, Health Minister of Assam, Lt Gen RP Kalita, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Major General Rajesh Kumar Jha, AVSM, Officiating General Officer Commanding, 101 Area, various other dignitaries from the state government, civil administrative authorities and senior veterans of Armed Forces.
In order to provide state-of-the-art medical treatment, particularly for cancer care, the Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF) has been empanelled with the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). ACCF is a joint initiative of the state government of Assam and TATA Trust and is chaired by the Chief Minister of Assam.
The ten units of ACCF, which are currently co-located with government medical colleges and district hospitals in Assam, will provide cashless and capless service to ECHS beneficiaries in Assam and other states in the Northeast at rates set by the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
This arrangement will provide major relief to veterans and their families by making high-quality cancer care more accessible and eliminating the need for cancer patients to travel outside the state for treatment.
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For the first time, government medical colleges in Assam have been included in the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) network with the assistance of the state government. This memorandum of agreement will allow almost 112,000 beneficiaries to receive cashless and capless treatment for any type of medical condition.
This arrangement will also allow ECHS beneficiaries to receive specialist treatment within their own districts, close to their homes. The inclusion of government medical colleges and hospitals in the ECHS network will not only benefit the ex-servicemen community in Assam, but also ECHS members from neighboring small states.
Similar efforts are being made in other states in the Northeast region, including Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Meghalaya, to ensure that ECHS beneficiaries have access to adequate health care throughout the region.
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